In the midst of a losing streak, the New York Yankees tried to provoke laughter in the dugout.
Before their final game of their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, two Bombers engaged in a confrontation during the national anthem with two Reds players.
The game is simple: you have to stay on the field from the start of the national anthem, for as long as possible. The first team to return to the bench loses.
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New York Yankees broadcasters Michael Kay and John Sterling look on before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 20, 2024, in New York, New York. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
But Yankees manager Aaron Boone finally had enough and told his players to return to the dugout, much to the delight of the Reds dugout.
So, just like the Yankees on the field, they lost.
Then, about three hours later, the Reds swept them on the field.
The confrontation seemed like innocent fun, but its own announcer was not happy about it.
Michael Kay criticized the Yankees on his radio show Friday afternoon, calling the act “childish nonsense” that “cheapened the organization.”
“What are we, kids? These are the New York Yankees…” Kay began, though he also gave Boone credit for ending his speech. “The New York Yankees don't play that kind of game. That's silly, stupid, childish, childish.”
Graham Ashcraft, #51 of the Cincinnati Reds, listens to the national anthem before the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
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“Let other ridiculous teams do that,” he added. “Why would the Yankees do that? It's silly. … It makes the Yankees look small. You guys are playing like you're in Williamsport? Like it's the Little League World Series? The New York Yankees, you guys wear pinstripes, baby. You guys don't do that kind of stuff. And you've been losing and playing bad, and this is what you're going to do? Come on, guys, you're better than that.”
He even went so far as to call the participants “nudniks.”
New York Mets announcer Howie Rose didn't like the game much either.
“Am I hopelessly out of touch or is this just an exercise in childish, selfish, pointless, irrelevant and downright embarrassing stupidity?” He posted on X.
Michael Kay during the New York Yankees' 75th Old-Timers Day on September 9, 2023, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Yankees have lost 14 of their last 19 games after a hot start, and if things don't go their way this weekend against the Boston Red Sox, they could be in danger of falling to third place in the American League East sooner rather than later.
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